Bio

Lars Eller Bio

The number of Danish players in the NHL continues to grow, and Eller helped pave that path.

Eller was the first player born, raised and trained in Denmark to be drafted in the first round when he was selected by the St. Louis Blues with the No. 13 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. Since then, Mikkel Bodker (Arizona, 2008) Nicklas Jensen (Vancouver, 2011) and Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg, 2014) were selected in the first round.

The number of Danish players in the NHL continues to grow, and Eller helped pave that path.

Eller was the first player born, raised and trained in Denmark to be drafted in the first round when he was selected by the St. Louis Blues with the No. 13 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. Since then, Mikkel Bodker (Arizona, 2008) Nicklas Jensen (Vancouver, 2011) and Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg, 2014) were selected in the first round.

Eller came up through the Danish program Rodovre, and at the age of 16 he moved to Sweden to join Frolunda, where he played until the end of the 2008-09 season when he signed an entry-level contract with the Blues.

Eller spent most of the 2009-10 season with Peoria of the American Hockey League, where he was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team after scoring 18 goals and 57 points in 70 games. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 5, 2009, scoring his first career goal in a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.

His tenure with the Blues ended after one season when he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on June 17, 2010.

Eller spent six seasons as part of Montreal's core group of forwards, utilizing his strong skating ability, size and versatility to be used up and down the lineup, moving from wing to center and becoming a reliable penalty killer. Eller also showed some offensive prowess, scoring 12 or more goals in four of his six seasons. On Jan. 4, 2012, Eller registered his first career hat trick against the Winnipeg Jets, finishing with four goals and five points.

During the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eller helped Montreal's run to the Eastern Conference Final with five goals and 13 points in 17 games.

Following the 2015-16 season, Eller was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a pair of second-round draft picks.